MindStir Media Author Shares "Writing Lessons from Downton Abbey"

Bestselling author Paula Wiseman guest blogged at the MindStir Media blog earlier today, sharing with authors "Writing Lessons from Downton Abbey". The writing lessons focus on creating strong characters, memorable dialogue, and more... I don't know of any book publishers that wouldn't agree with Paula's advice. Enjoy!

Who Should See Your First Draft

I'm going to make this somewhat short and sweet: Only you should see the first draft of your manuscript. Please, please, please do not submit your first draft to publishers, agents, and never self-publish it for the public to see! Do your career a huge favor and at least self-edit and revise before you submit your manuscript anywhere. If you plan to self-publish, hire a professional editor before it sees the light of day. I understand that paying a qualified editor is quite expensive, but your book (and career) is worth the investment. I promise you that the majority of the most successful authors in the world do not turn in their first draft. It's simply not a smart career move.

I swear I'm not one of the Quality Police. Really, I'm not. I just wouldn't want anyone claiming that you've produced "bad literature." Don't give the Quality Police any more fuel!

Have you ever read a book that appeared to be a first draft? Comment.

Have you ever submitted or self-published a first draft? What kind of response did you receive? Comment.

Happy (Belated) New Year

Happy New Year ...

And all my previous posts have suddenly disappeared. I guess this means I need to start over and fill this blog with some solid content. Later ...

See those cool icons and button-thingies in the right sidebar? Okay, cool. I hope you'll give them some attention. They get lonely over there. Especially the ones that say "Receive the blog via e-mail" and "Follow". Why should you take action? Because this is the year--the big 2011--that I'm going to blog like crazy. I'll blog about self-publishing, writing, my work, book marketing, social media, and pretty much anything I find interesting. I might even add some videos and pictures to the blog. If you're lucky. Ha.

So won't you join me? I'd love to build a friendship with you on here. If you've already shown love to the follow/receive via e-mail buttons/links, I hope you'll stick around and also share the blog with your friends. You're awesome! Thanks for visiting my little platform of self-importance.

J. J. Hebert
Author and president of MindStir Media
http://www.jjhebert.net/ | http://www.mindstirmedia.com/